Summerfolk Tickets

Summerfolk in London!

Get ready for a remarkable summer with Summerfolk. This bold new adaptation of Nobel Prize nominee Maxim Gorky’s biting play about privilege, the upper classes and willful ignorance returns to the National Theatre, Bankside, for the first time in over two decades. Summerfolk comes to the National Theatre’s Olivier Stage for a strictly limited run this summer - dont miss this rich “tapestry of desire and loss” (Variety), secure your tickets today. 

What is the play Summerfolk about? 

During the scorching hot summer of 1905, an elite group of the bourgeoisie retreat to a countryside estate in rural Russia to relax, gossip, drink champagne, swim… and start affairs. In the bubble of their idyllic summer holiday, all their worries feel a million miles away - but one partygoer, Varvara, can’t help but feel they’re living on borrowed time. As a political storm builds on the horizon, how long can the friends shut out the real world? 

The History of Summerfolk

Summerfolk was written in 1904 and premiered at the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre in Saint Petersburg in November 1905. The production had its British premiere in 1974 at the Aldwych theatre, in a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It has since been revived many times both in the UK and internationally, most recently at the National Theatre in 1999, in an adaptation by Nick Dear, directed by Trevor Nunn. The 1999 production earned Nunn an Evening Standard, Olivier and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director. This bold new production marks Summerfolk's return to the National Theatre for the first time in over two decades, and features a new adapted script by Nina and Moses Raine.

Who are the cast of Summerfolk?

The party members are yet to RSVP - casting for this production is to be announced. 

Who are the creative team of Summerfolk? 

Robert Hastie directs. Hastie is the Deputy Artistic Director of the National Theatre and the former Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, and Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse. His credits include Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National, Sheffield Crucible and West End, Operation Mincemeat in the West End and on Broadway, Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Hamlet at the National Theatre.

Summerfolk is written by Maxim Gorky. This new adaptation is from siblings Nina Raine and Moses Raine.

Maxim Gorky (1868 -1936) was a Russian and Soviet writer, journalist, activist and philanthropist. Best known for his politically progressive works that promoted socialism and opposed the Tsarist regime, Gorky was a five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include novels Mother and The Artamonov Business, and plays The Lower Depths and The Philistines.

Nina Raine is a British playwright and director. Her works include Rabbit, Tribes, Tiger Country, and Consent starring Anna Maxwell Martin. She is an Evening Standard and Critic’s Circle Award winner and a fellow of the Royal Society for Literature.

Moses Raine is a British playwright. He is a Verity Bargate Award nominee. His works include Donkey Heart, Shrieks of Laughter, and The Survival Handbook. 

Tickets for Summerfolk at The National Theatre!

Summerfolk promises a truly unforgettable summer holiday. This breathtaking, political play is “a scathing portrait of the new Russian professional class at leisure” (Guardian), in a bold new adaptation by award-winning writers Nina Raine and Moses Raine. Book your tickets for Summerfolk at the National Theatre’s Olivier stage today.